Minimalism as Simple Geometry

This is a colorful building of a Kindergarten School I spotted in Bani Park, Jaipur. This is probably one of the best Kindergarten Schools in terms of its exterior wall paint, design and aesthetics. I took about 7-8 shots of this place. More of which I shall post in my future updates.

Remember: for a Minimalist Photographer, a Kindergarten School is a Great Great Subject. Go find them !

- More On the Minimalist Composition

I actually stopped by this school, to shoot "Minimalism as Few Distinctive Colors", but here there are way too many colors to classify this image under that category. This is a bit Maximal.

So this one goes under the Minimalism as Simple Geometry Category , because of the symmetry and geometrical alignment in the composition and the sheer presence of Simple Geometric Shapes.

The Simple Geometry being:

a) Lines

b) Colorful Rectangles.

Hope you enjoyed the shot. I am eager to post the other shots I have from this outing.

Minimalism as Less Elements

The above Photo Falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements Category. The Picture a little Maximal, as the coverage area of the Reflection of the Electricity Tower on Glass Building, is quite large. But, Still the elements in the Photo are just three. Namely:-

Another take on The Photo is, that it is more of Minimalist Visual Art Play, than just being a Simplistically Minimal Photograph. I hope you get what I am trying to say.

I found this subject on a Red Light Crossing. I was on my bike Crossing it and The Big Reflection of the Electricity Tower, made me stop right after the crossing.

Yes, a Lot of people started staring at me, as the street was a busy one. Some people even started calling me, to come take a photo of something that they think I could publish in the newspaper. They all consider me a Media Reporter, for the way I look with my rimless specs. And also because of The Big Big Long 100mm Canon Prime Lens, that I took this shot with.

I have made it a rule now, that no matter who calls me, I will ignore all the voices. Its just a waste of time and it creates an immediate disconnect with my sub-conscious mind that generally takes over, when I shoot Minimalist Photos.

I would advise you as well, to not to get into any kind of chatter with people on the street while shooting. I have had incidents, therefore I am suggesting you this.

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

I have a fascination for Squares and they are my favorite Minimalism Subject. Whenever I find them, I shoot them, no matter what. :)

The Hollow Square that you see above, is from a fest that I went to. This is a wall just outside the main building. They were doing some last minute touch-ups before the fest. I was lucky enough to visit the place just 2 days before the inauguration, otherwise this wall would have been a multi-colored one.

If you notice, I did not edit the photograph that much. I kept it a little Dull and Flat on purpose, as that is what I wanted to communicate here.

Dull and Flat is sometimes the Mood that I am into, when I sit down and think about Life.

Only yesterday, I had posted a status on my Facebook Timeline, "Life is a square, with unequal sides."

OK, so lets get to the Composition Highlights now.

I actually found this at Smriti Van (forest) in Jaipur. I was there for an Instagram Meet. This Twig pair was spotted at the Centerpiece Decoration of the Yoga Garden at Smriti Van, which had a lot of creeper plants on it.

I was having a discussion with my friend and was telling him how eager I was to spot and shoot a Spider Web. I initially spotted a few Strands of the Spiders Web but I wasn't happy with that.

When I looked around the entire Centerpiece Decoration, I actually failed to spot any worthwhile Spider Webs. With a sad, dull mood, I decided to make these Two Entangled Dry White Twigs as my stop-gap subject.

I clicked this very casually and took just 2 shots. Later, I discarded one of it, but kept this one.

I did one mistake here, which I later corrected in post processing/editing. It is very difficult to get sharp focus in handheld Macro Shots. And my Camera provides only 1 Cross-Point Focus option. That is the Center Focus Point, out of the 9 in total available in the view-finder to focus.

So, to get this sharp, I used that center focus point and clicked this image. But, I ended up center-placing my subject and that was looking awful, just awful.

I did not use the other focus points as they would not have given me this clear and sharp picture. Also, I did not Compose-Recompose by physically moving the camera after locking focus, to get the rule of thirds right, because in Macro Lenses, you tend to lose focus with the slightest of movement.

Therefore, I simply cropped the Image from the left and Bang ! Rule of thirds was applied :)

Though I have titled this photo as The Missing Window Pane, I also have another interpretation of it.

I looked for a meaning for this photograph within my Sub-conscious mind. When I did, I realized this relates to my real life story.

I had a girl friend back in 2003, with whom I were to get married. But since she was elder to me by a couple of years and was already working, things did not work out the way I had thought. Her parents wanted her to get married asap but I had plan to fly to Bangalore for my MBA Degree.

I was left with a tough choice, whether to fly to Bangalore for higher education or Simply Marry her. I chose to get a Degree, based on the assumption that its true love and she would happily wait.

But, since I moved to a far off location from my city, our relationship turned into a long distance one.

Soon, there were misunderstandings and many a times I flew back home to clarify. But one day it all ended abruptly. We had a big misunderstanding, which I could not sort out. Along with that, her ego got hurt. I kept asking her to give me One Last Chance to Clarify and Explain, but She refused.

The Missing Window Pane above is that Missing Last Chance, she never gave me. If she had, life would have been different.

That said, I would like to thank her as well, as This art i.e. Minimalist Photography, that I do today, is because of her.